Douglas J Epstein PhD

From his Ph.D. at McGill University, post-doc at Harvard University in the McMahon lab and studies in the Joyner lab at New York University, Doug has a long history of examining the transcriptional control of the Sonic hedgehog (Shh) gene. He currently focuses on mechanisms of congenital brain malformations caused by Shh misregulation, as well as the genetic basis of and novel gene therapy strategies for hearing loss.

Doug has a longstanding commitment to mentorship, overseeing NIGMS sponsored Genetics predoctoral training and junior faculty mentoring programs, as well as hosting underrepresented high school interns through The Franklin Institute (TFI) STEM Scholars Program and Penn Genetics Summer Internship Program.

His favorite experimental protocol involves modifying the embryonic mouse genome using state-of-the-art gene editing tools, such as CRISPR-Cas9.